SOUND AFFAIRS 30TH ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND
Various venues, Cardiff
Fri 15-Sun 17 Nov
Since being founded by Welsh composer Charlie Barber, Sound Affairs has enjoyed near-singular status in its Cardiff homestead: a music and theatre production company which seeks to present those two artforms at their intersection, and seek to either highlight avant-garde work or put more established material in that context. As of 2019, Barber and his team have three decades under their belt, and are acknowledging that via three evenings of live ensemble performance which seeks to challenge cosy perceptions.
The opening event, on Fri 15, is at Llandaff’s Insole Court, a repurposed mansion whose rooms literally could have been built with classical recitals in mind. Here, they’ll house a performance titled Radio Amore, whose premise aims to evoke a nocturnal wireless broadcast, and whose rangy programme includes works for oboe by Vivaldi and Corelli, Italian Michele Batani the overseas guest performer.
Sat 16 takes place at the Wales Millennium Centre and begins in its foyer, with a 20-minute performance of Barber’s Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, by the Mavron Quartet. Shortly after comes a screening of 1923’s Oscar Wilde-inspired silent film Salomé, soundtracked by a percussion ensemble directed by Barber. Finally, Cardiff University Concert Hall has a Beethoven-inspired afternoon on Sun 17, aiming to shed fresh light on this most staunchly canonical of composers.
Tickets: £5-£10 Fri 15; £12 Sat 16; free-£10 Sun 17. Info: www.soundaffairs.co.uk (NG)